my life in stitches

just in time for spring

... presenting Tulip.

never mind the awkard, one-armed self-portrait. Tulip is a perfect fit! the yellow is not quite as dreadful as i thought, so maybe she will get a bit of exposure in the coming season. in fact, she will be making her SXSW debut this week! there's a blue / white / green shade of this yarn (Jamaica by Katia) that is really gorgeous. i'm almost tempted to knit another one, but that's probably not going to happen. would be a bit boring, i think. while Tulip was waiting to have her ends woven in, i cast on for a pair of socks. wasn't really into the idea of socks, but at that moment i had nothing else to knit. also, my sock stash is getting kind of ridiculous, so why not? i knit with sock yarn in the order that it was purchased or received. this particular skein of Opal had been in my stash for about 4 years. it's really sick, isn't it?

i found some obscure italian bamboo yarn in black at 6 sts to the inch! i think i'll cast on for a tank today. i am so happy! strained eyes and headaches here we come!

yay! socks!

FO alert!!! can you believe it? i've finally completed the 3 year old socks! i love my stripey mismatched socks. yesterday susan and i were having a conversation about certain fabulous, but finicky knitters who just couldn't bear the thought of their stripes not being perfectly matchy matchy. i'm not naming names or anything, i'm just sayin'. in my opinion, stripey symmetry is overrated. i much prefer a unique, asymmetrical, let the colors fall where they may sort of sock. i am really looking forward to wearing them with my new clogs!

what's next, you ask? well, more socks, of course! i think i'll use the lovely missoni sock yarn that susan sent me when she was my secret pal. i am really excited to see how it knits up.

and by the way, if there were no finicky knitters who count every row and get things all perfectly matchy matchy we'd all still be knitting garter stitch scarves! god(dess) bless the finicky knitters!

fix me, fix me

where shall i begin? Tom Tom is finished and most of the offending ends have been woven in. however, there's a problem of too few buttons for so much sweater. blocking gave me the extra width that i needed, but there is still a gap between some of the buttons. as i was flipping through the new Rowan, i noticed that one of the models is wearing a cardigan that has gaps between the buttons! hello, Rowan? my friend, melissa, suggested that i put tiny snaps in the spaces between the buttons and that is what i shall do. let's hope this does the trick!

my gauge suddenly went all tight on Wings, so i've had to rip her out. i didn't want to go up a needle size because the non-intarsia part of the fabric was perfect and i was afraid a bigger needle would make it too loose. so, instead, i'm knitting the next size up and will make a conscious effort to knit a bit more loosely over the intarsia.

in other project news, i am knitting a couple of face cloths that i shall pair with my favorite french soap and give as a housewarming gift. i usually knit them from Mission Falls cotton but, apparently, their mill burned down and it's no longer being made! i am sure i could track some down online. however, i'm in a bit of hurry. i want to knit them RIGHT NOW, so i've chosen Rowan All Seasons Cotton as a substitute. does anyone know how ASC fares in the dryer?

whew!

i completed my 2 projects for Vickie Howell's , Not Another Teen Knitting Book, and i've finished writing the patterns. they're off in the mail tomorrow!

i've finished the cross stitch on Tom Tom. now i'm weaving in the ends, but just the ones along the edges, and then i'll sew on the sleeves and sew up the side seams. that is very exciting! however, don't wet your pants just yet, as it may take another couple of days just to weave in the ends. i'll save the massive, overall weaving in of ends until later. much later. at present, only those along the seams and those that are visible are an issue.

i have cast on for Wings and finished the ribbing. i'm feeling kind of beat at the moment, so i don't think i'll start the intarsia for a day or two. i feel like i might be coming down with something. ugh. i need a nap.

stay tuned for the announcement of Wings Together!

presenting Carla

better late than never.

socks

wow! i think this is my first FO of 2005! the yarn is Trekking XXL in color 30. the pattern is a mix of different elements. i worked from the basic sock pattern in Folk Socks. i knit a dutch heel and a round toe. the rib i stole from some other pattern. my problem with socks is that i have skinny legs and wide feet. these fit pretty well, but i wouldn't have minded a leg that was a bit more snug. next time i'll cast on with 4 fewer stitches and then increase by 4 on the last row of the leg before i start the heel.

i washed that other sock yarn that i ripped out a few weeks ago, so i'll probably cast on for another pair soon. i think i'll start the neck band on Tom Tom today and then find someone to teach me how to do cross stitch. Jac, i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the yarn for Wings will arrive today!

Freda loves you so much

... that she lay her pristine self upon this wretched, dog-hair covered rug just so that you could take a gander at her loveliness...

and now for the obligatory self-portrait. too bad there's no one here to photograph me, because i'd love to do a Rachael. damn. maybe next time!

couldn't be bothered with searching for ribbon or the tedious knitting of i-cord, so i just threw some strands together and made a little braid, knotted on the ends. hmmm... i guess the time has come to fetch Tom Tom from the closet...

presenting the pink scarf

i am pretty pleased with the outcome, though the cashmere didn't fluff up as nicely as thought it would. hmm... don't recall what the cashmere content was on this yarn, probably 30% or so. it will work well with a denim jacket or a black turtleneck.

fo and a half

i finished the pink scarf last night while watching "Kill Bill, Volume2". it had been stalled for some time because i couldn't decide between short and sweet or long and lovely. i opted for short and sweet. i have a skein+ left over. not sure what to do. maybe i can find a matching pink yarn and mix the two for a hat. i thought about adding tassels on the end, but decided that it reminded me too much of those things that priests sometimes wear over their robes. (yes. i was an altar girl in a long forgotten catholic universe, far, far, away...) i'll weave in the ends and block it today. the cashmere should bloom quite nicely after blocking! i am so happy to have completed something! now i can start something new!

i really want to knit Wings from the current issue of Rowan. unfortunately, i can't seem to come up with the right color combination. pale pink and chocolate? pale blue and chocolate? aqua and yellow? green and yellow? it's so hard! also, i think it best if i make it a reward for finishing Tom Tom (remember her?). i don't need to have 2 labor intensive intarsia projects on needles! just one more sleeve (plus massive finishing!) to complete it...

speaking of completing. i finished the first half of Freda. i really should cast on for the 2nd half before i lose my steam. those little curlicue bits at the start of it are a total pain in the ass to knit. it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. after that, it's a breeze. i should just suffer through it and get it over with.

a special shout out to marie in Wales. thank you for the tea!

in other news... beginning in January, i will be teaching 2 knitting classes at Hill Country Weavers, sunday afternoons from 1-3 PM and monday evenings from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. i am so excited to be teaching again! come out and get your knit on!

ack! i'm back!

for the past 2 weeks i was languishing in dial-up hell, but i finally have dsl! i've missed everyone! i feel like i'm so-o-o behind on everyone's latest projects and most recent knitting disasters. in between unpacking and getting settled in i have managed to do a bit of knitting and finishing. today i sewed a button and a closure on the koigu coat, pictured here. it needs a belt and needs to be tweaked a bit more, but i think i'll finally get to wear it for the first time this week!

i just cast on for freda, the latest free gift from Rowan International. the pattern is pretty cute. they call it a mini poncho, but it's actually more of a capelet. i think they're just trying to capitalize on the poncho craze (don't get me started about ponchos!). the yarn is Cork, which is pretty nice to knit with. however, they sent me an awful tan, oatmeal, heathery color. blech! i hope i can stand it.

last week i got to meet up with the very cool carolyn of splityarn and a few of her friends for a little knitting and drinking. i'll try to remember to bring my camera next week and take a few photos.

the little red cardigan makes her debut

my experiment went extremely well, though the results were rather different than i had anticipated. i was expecting a sort of tye-dyed, bleached out, streaky pink affair, but what i got was a fire engine red, slightly fulled and very fabulous jacket! the little red cardigan made her debut at the polls this morning. i couldn't be happier with the results. now this is a sweater that i will wear!

Bird's Nest Shawl

presenting the Bird's Nest Shawl!

Specs:

Finished Measurements: 19" x 100"
Yarn: worsted weight, 70% cashmere & 30% silk yarn from School Products
Needle Size: US 9
Pattern: modified version of the Bird's Nest Shawl from:

wow! my hair is really red! shame what this scorching southern sun does to a good dye job

the old and the new

carla is all done!

i wore her a couple of times in manhattan. i'll post a pic of me wearing it in a few days. i never fail to feel completely ambivalent toward a recent FO. ugh. i just hate them and it usually takes several months to a year for me to really appreciate them. i am not sure that i made the right choice regarding color. it's pretty blah. the only thing that looks good underneath it is a white, spaghetti strap tank. not sure what i'll wear under it as it gets colder. we shall see. the sleeve finishing was annoying and i made the executive decison to leave mine a little rough around the edges. i think it fits well with the overall aesthetic of the sweater.

when i was in the city i visited Purl, Knit NY, and School Products. Purl is located across the street from my old apartment. it immediately felt like home. the shop is lovely, though i didn't really see any yarns that excited me. Knit NY had some lovely Lobster Pot cashmere. however, i merely browsed because i was saving my cashmere cash for School Products. and this is what i purchased:

the pink yarn is hand-dyed 60% silk, 40% cashmere. i love how the color is not quite uniform and looks washed out and faded in some places, like an old t-shirt or a favorite pair of jeans. the other yarn is 16 ply, 80% cashmere, 20% silk. the strands are gold and cream. i'll make scarves with both.

my knitting goals for september are:

• finish Tom Tom
• work on my charcoal cashmere/silk shawl
• start a scarf with the pink silk/cashmere yarn.

i saw an amazing exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum. Tools Of Her Ministry: The Art Of Sister Gertrude Morgan. check her out here.

nature cotton eyelet top

here's a pic of my mother wearing her nature cotton eyelet top.

knitting gallery update

i've updated the knitting gallery with a few older pieces.

red cardigan

i have finally finished the red cardigan! a couple of the buttons have to be moved, but everything else is done! to be quite honest, i don't think this sweater is really me. seems a bit dowdy for my taste. it's going into hiding for the spring and summer. maybe i'll feel differently about it in the fall!

sweaters, sweaters, sweaters

you asked for it! here's a really dreadful photo of me wearing the striped sweater.

and here's my new project - a cardigan knit with araucania nature wool. i've always wanted a red cardigan, haven't you?

another FO!

yay! i completed the striped sweater and i absolutely love it!. this just might be my most successful project yet! here are a couple of pics pre-blocking and weaving in the ends.

i'll post a photo of me wearing that sweater after it dries!

FO & works in progress

i started this alpaca sweater (peruvian tweed by galler) for my friend, paul, about a year ago. i am so glad that it's finished and i can send it off to him! this yarn is difficult to photograph, so the color isn't great. however,it is very luscious and cozy

here's a scarf i've justed started working on for myself. the yarn is elaine by cheryl schaefer.

i just finished the body of the striped sweater (debbie bliss merino dk).

big bad baby blanket

this is the original Big Bad Baby Blanket from Deb Stoller's Stitch N Bitch. (not a great pic, i know! this color is difficult to photograph.) if you knit this blanket i would love to have a pic to post here! send it to me and i'll create a gallery of Big Bad Baby Blanket pics!

gallery

finally got around to posting my finished objects. there are a lot of things missing, but for the meantime you can find them here.